Which Star Trek episode?
Can you tell me which Star Trek: The Next Generation episode this is from? Answer will be in the next post.
July 29, 2007
Attached
So finally I get to my favorite episode, Attached. Well it's my favorite excluding the last 10 minutes. Picard and Beverly through a mind link, finally face their feeling for each other and do nothing. It's not that I was merely disappointed that they did not let the character's relationship evolve, but rather the way it was handled. Yes, they'd established Beverly had a sarcastic streak that she'd learned to keep to herself so as not to hurt others, but the way she shot down Picard, wasn't even sarcastic, it was cruel. After returning to the ship and having the implants removed, she teased him, basically pushed him into making a move and then shot him down with the ever hated, "Mabye we should be afraid..." Um, good going Doc. You'd think she'd have been able to articulate let's take it slowly, a little better than that.
Interesting notes: The final script was much different from the script submitted by Nick Sagan, (Carl Sagan's son). In the original draft, the reason Beverly wanted to hold off on their relationship was because she likened the implants to an addictive drug. She wanted to give them time for the effects of the implants to wear off.
Also, after Picard's experiences with the Borg, one that left him pretty emotionally and psychologically scarred, you would think he would not have enjoyed being linked at all. Here again is the argument that Crusher and Picard are soul mates if you will. He doesn't mind sharing his most intimate thoughts with HER.
A few more images
A few Picard/Crusher images ...
From "Remember Me"
From "Allegiance"
All Good Things
All Good Things was the 2 hour series finale of The Next Generation. Unfortunately most of the cast/crew were also preparing for the filming of the Generations movie. As such, I think some compromises had to be made due to time, scheduling and probably budget. Overall it was a good episode. Picard timeshifts between past, present and future timelines. And the writers had a few last tweaks with the Picard/Crusher fans. At one point we meet Beverly Picard in the future, but as it turns out, they're divorced. What after 30 years they're just going to give up? It seemed a little cheap/contrived. Then there was that kiss in the ready room ...
Chain of Command
The two part episode Chain of Command is one I often find difficult to watch. The torture of Picard by his Cardassian captor is not so much visually graphic (like many scenes favored by horror movies today) but as such just seems that much more realistic and disturbing. It's like Hitchcock's version of Psycho. Sometimes a scene is much scarier/more disturbing when they don't show everything. So why is it on my top 10 list of TNG episodes? Quite frankly, Patrick Stewart's acting was superb and deserved an Emmy (which he never one for acting in TNG). The Beverly Crusher character had a dilemma of her own, when she had to order Worf to leave Picard behind. It was also interesting that the one thing that was about to break Picard, was the thought that Beverly was about to receive the same treatment he'd received.
On a humorous note: Troi finally ditches the horrible leotard outfit for a regular uniform.
July 28, 2007
The Inner Light
In the episode The Inner Light, Picard comes in contact with an enemy probe, which links him to a faraway place and time. To Picard, it as if he as lived a lifetime. To his crewmates back on the Enterprise, he is unconscious on the bridge and attempts to revive him prove futile.
Besides the story and the acting of the episode, I really love the music. There are two versions available from iTunes, the standard version and the orchestral version. I prefer the latter, but they are both worth a listen (even if only the sample).
Orchestral Suite from the Inner Light from the album "The Best of Star Trek: 30th Anniversary Special!" by Jay Chattaway
By the way, the prop of the ressikan flute Picard played in this episode was one of the highest bid items in the recent Christy's auction.
The High Ground
If you're a fan of the relationship between Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Doctor Beverly Crusher than you are probably familiar with the Season 3 episode, The High Ground. Beverly Crusher is abducted by terrorists who try to use her as leverage in their negotiations. There are a few things that stand out for most fans of the Captain Picard/Beverly Crusher relationship. The first is that Beverly is one of the few, if not the only person, who can stand up to Picard and make him back down. Early in the episode, Picard commands Beverly to return to the ship immediately. Beverly, preoccupied with treating a badly injured man, tells Picard, over the open channel, "not right now". Cut to a very miffed Picard and an obviously bemused Commander Riker. Picard bites back a response and aquiesces. Something he soon regrets, as Beverly is at that point taken hostage.
The second item that stands out for Picard/Crusher fans is what Beverly almost tells him when they are both in danger. She starts off with, "Jean-Luc there's something I've been meaning to tell you ...." and it cut off before she can finish. It's a line that will get revisted later in the series.
The Big Goodbye
Besides loving Trek and Science Fiction, I also love a good mystery. The first season episode, The Big Goodbye, is a 20th century mystery story with 24th century characters. Captain Picard loves reading the fictional adventures of one Dixon Hill. Luckily for him, some 24th century Starfleet vessels, like the Enterprise, are equipped with a Holodec (think Virtual Reality Cave without the need for special goggles/glasses). Picard invites Beverly Crusher, Data and the ship's historian to share the holodec adventure set in 1940's San Francisco. Well as you can imagine, not everything goes according to the script. It also allowed viewers a tiny peak at Picard and Crusher when they weren't in uniform. You could feel the tension when Picard firsts spots Beverly Crusher, dressed in 1940s garb. It was well acted, if a bit more understated that the scenes in The Naked Now.
I haven't read too many Star Trek Next Generation novels, but if you liked The Big Goodbye, I suggest reading,
"A Hard Rain (Star Trek The Next Generation)" (Dean Wesley Smith)
August 17, 2006
Google to have a booth at Las Vegas Star Trek convention
Ok, I’ve always loved Google, but this is very cool. They are going to have a booth at the Star Trek convention in Las Vegas, and are crediting Star Trek for predicting blogs. Link.
In other Trek related news (and I’m way late in posting this as I’ve been a bit under the weather) all the Trek Captains are going to provide voice work for the new Star Trek Legacy game by Bethesda, who did such a fantastic job with Oblivion. I can’t wait for this game in the fall. It might actually tear me away from Oblivion and the Sims2, lol.
Now playing: David Bowie - Space Oddity
August 7, 2006
Livejournal mood theme
For those that are on livejournal and can set custom mood themes, I’ve created a picard-crusher mood theme. Sample images can be found here. I think only those that have a paid LJ account can create a custom mood theme. In order to change the mood theme you will need to download (do a save as on the download link) the images and then either upload them to a site that lets you remote load images, like photobucket, or upload them to your LJ scrapbook. Then you will need to create a new theme using the Custom Mood Editor (basically paste the url of the image to the appropriate mood entry).
Now playing: Bonnie Raitt - Back Around
November 5, 2005
A very cool Xmas Ornament
Normally each year my husband and I buy one new ornament for the Christmas tree. We haven’t been doing this the last few years since live Xmas trees in Maui are outrageously expensive and often pretty ratty looking. This may just be the year we break down and buy an artificial tree. For one, we are renting a house so actually have some nice places to put the tree. And secondly, I just ordered this ornament. (Star Trek fans beware, Resistance is Futile).
Now playing: Joe Sample - Sunrise